U.S. patent number 6,402,712 [Application Number 09/374,688] was granted by the patent office on 2002-06-11 for dual action knee strap.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Cho-Pat, Inc.. Invention is credited to George R. Gauvry.
United States Patent |
6,402,712 |
Gauvry |
June 11, 2002 |
Dual action knee strap
Abstract
A knee strap which includes a main body portion having a first
side, a second side, a front, and a back; a first pair of arms
extending from and attached to the first side of the main body
portion; and a second p air of arms extending from and attached to
the second side of the main body portion is disclosed. The first
pair of arms includes a top arm and a bottom arm where each arm has
a rubber tube enclosed therein. The top arm fits above the kneecap
and the bottom arm fits below the kneecap. The tubes apply pressure
to the tendons located above and below the kneecap once the strap
is secured on a person's knee. The first pair of arms is held in
place on a person's knee with hook and loop fasteners which are
located on both the first pair of arms and the second pair of arms.
The second pair of arms also has a top arm and a bottom arm so that
the top arms are secured together and the bottom arms are secured
together. Once the arms are secured together on the knee, an
opening is formed which exposes the kneecap and allows the knee to
move freely yet still be supported.
Inventors: |
Gauvry; George R. (Westampton,
NJ) |
Assignee: |
Cho-Pat, Inc. (Hainesport,
NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
23477821 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/374,688 |
Filed: |
August 16, 1999 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
602/26;
602/62 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
13/062 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
13/06 (20060101); A61F 005/00 (); A61F
013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;602/5,23,26,60-62,75
;128/881,882 ;2/22,24 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pothier; Denise
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lehrer; Norman E.
Claims
I claim:
1. A knee strap for supporting a knee and providing pressure to the
patellar tendons above and below a person's kneecap comprising:
a main body portion having a first side and a second side;
a first pair of elongated arms extending from and attached to said
first side of said main body portion;
a second pair of elongated arms extending from and attached to said
second side of said main body portion;
means for securing said first pair of arms to said second pair of
arms; and
resilient compressible buttress means for applying pressure to the
patellar tendons, said pressure applying means being located only
within said first pair of arms and being adapted to lie only above
and below the kneecap so that pressure is applied only above and
below the kneecap during use.
2. The knee strap of claim 1 wherein said securing means includes
hook and loop fasteners.
3. The knee strap of claim 1 wherein said pressure applying means
includes a rubber tube within each of said first pair of arms.
4. The knee strap of claim 1 further including an opening for the
kneecap.
5. The knee strap of claim 1 wherein said first pair of arms
includes a top arm and a bottom arm and the second pair of arms
includes a top arm and a bottom arm.
6. The knee strap of claim 5 wherein said securing means are
attached to said top and bottom arms so that said top arms engage
with each other and said bottom arms engage with each other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward a dual action knee strap
and more particularly, toward a knee strap for supporting the
patella and patellar tendons located above and below the kneecap
while still allowing unencumbered use of the knee.
Injury to the knee and the surrounding area including the patella
and patellar tendons is frequent because the knee is a high stress
area. As such, many braces have been designed and developed to give
support to the knee and the surrounding area during exercise.
Usually such a support is used after an injury to partially
immobilize the weakened knee for preventing the possibility of
further injury. Knee supports have also been designed to alleviate
the pain and discomfort due to conditions such as Chondromalacia
patella syndrome, patellar tendonitis, and other knee
disfunctions.
Knee supports range in design from very small straps to highly
involved and cumbersome rigid braces. The prior art discloses many
knee brace designs which provide adequate support to the knee but
fail to allow the user to move the knee in the desired or necessary
fashion during certain exercises. In contradistinction, the less
involved braces such as simple straps allow flexibility but don't
supply the necessary support. Known knee straps that do provide
adequate support restrict flexibility. Also, many of the prior art
knee supports do not alleviate the pain or reduce the likelihood of
some of the commonly occurring conditions involving the knee.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,978 to Palumbo discloses a knee
brace with an elastic sleeve having an opening for the kneecap. The
brace has two elastic straps which wrap around the kneecap. One of
the. straps has a patellar ligament pad which may be made from foam
rubber and is sandwiched between a sheet of thin, pliable leather
or another suitable material and the inner band surface of the
strap. The knee brace disclosed in this patent, however, does not
provide proper support for the knee and it is large, making the
brace uncomfortable to wear.
Applicant's patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,646, discloses a knee
support with a main body portion which covers the kneecap and
securing straps which extend from each side of the main body
portion. The straps are wrapped around the knee and are secured at
the back of the knee. Attached to the main body portion above and
below the kneecap are pressure application straps which may be used
to adjust the support given to the kneecap and patellar tendons
below the kneecap. The present invention is an improvement over
this patent in that pressure is applied to the tendon above the
kneecap as well as the tendon below the kneecap.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is designed to overcome the deficiencies of
the prior art discussed above. It is an object of the present
invention to provide a device which is comfortable to wear and
allows full mobility of the knee while also providing the necessary
support for the knee.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device
with two arms which provide pressure to the tendons above and below
the kneecap.
In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating
features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided
a device which includes a main body portion having a first side, a
second side, a front side, and a back side; a first pair of arms
extending from and attached to the first side of the main body
portion; and a second pair of arms extending from and attached to
the second side of the main body portion. The first pair of arms
includes a top arm and bottom arm where each arm has means for
applying pressure to the patellar tendons by means of a rubber
buttress inserted between layers of material in the arms nearer the
skin. The top arm fits above the kneecap and the bottom arm fits
below the kneecap. The first pair of arms is held in place on a
person's knee by securing means which are located on both the first
pair of arms and the second pair of arms. The second pair of arms
also has a top arm and a bottom arm so that the top arms are
secured together and the bottom arms are secured together. Once the
arms are secured together on the knee, an opening is formed which
exposes the kneecap and allows the knee to move freely yet still be
supported.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be
readily apparent from the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in
the accompanying drawings one form which is presently preferred; it
being understood that the invention is not intended to be limited
to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities.
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the dual action knee strap
of the present invention being worn by a person;
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the dual action knee
strap of the present invention while it is being worn by a
person;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dual action knee strap of the
present invention;
FIG. 4 is rear elevational view of the dual action knee strap of
the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the dual action knee strap of
the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention taken
along line 6--6 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention taken
along line 7--7 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention taken
along line 8--8 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention taken
along line 9--9 of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention taken
along line 10--10 of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference
numerals have been used throughout the various figures to designate
like elements, there is shown in FIG. 3 a knee strap constructed in
accordance with the principles of the present invention and
designated generally as 10.
The dual action knee strap includes a main body portion 12 having a
first side 14, a second side 16, a front side 18, and a back side
20. The strap also has a first pair of elongated arms 22 and 24
extending from and attached to the first side 14 of the main body
portion 12, and a second pair of elongated arms 26 and 28 extending
from and attached to the second side 16 of the main body portion
12. The first pair of arms consists of a top arm 22 and a bottom
arm 24 which are spaced apart from each other and both of which
have sandwiched between two layers of material, a compressible
buttress in the form of a rubber tubing preferably having an outer
diameter of approximately three-eighths of an inch. Likewise, the
second pair of arms has a top arm 26 and a bottom arm 28 which are
spaced apart from each other. Top arm 22 and bottom arm 24 of the
first pair of arms have means for applying pressure to the patellar
tendons above and below a person's kneecap 34. (See FIG. 2.) These
means are the rubber tubes 30 and 32 enclosed within each of the
arms 22 and 24, respectively. The tubes 30 and 32 are located only
in arms 22 and 24, respectively. (See FIGS. 7 and 8.) The top arm
22 fits above the kneecap 34 and the bottom arm 24 fits below the
kneecap 34. The tubes 30 and 32 apply pressure to the tendons
located above and below the kneecap, respectively, once the strap
is secured on a person's knee, as will be described in more detail
below. Although the compressible buttresses are preferably in the
form of rubber tubes, it should be readily apparent that other
forms could also be used such as flexible rods of resilient foam
material or the like.
The first and second pairs of arms have means for securing the top
arms 22 and 26 together and the bottom arms 24 and 28 together on
the front side of the knee. Such means may include hook and loop
fasteners, for example, VELCRO strips. That is, a VELCRO strip 36
may be attached to the back side 38 of the top arm 22 and a VELCRO
strip 40 may be attached to the back side 42 of the bottom arm 24.
(See FIG. 4.) A VELCRO strip 44 may also be attached to the front
side 46 of the top arm 26 and a VELCRO strip 48 may be attached to
the front side 50 of the bottom arm 28. (See FIG. 5.)
To use the knee strap of the present invention, one simply places
the front side 18 of the main body portion 12 of the strap against
the back of the knee. (See FIG. 1.) The top arm 22 of the first
pair of arms, containing the rubber tubing, is brought across the
top of the kneecap 34 and the top arm 26 of the second pair of arms
is placed on top of the arm 22 so that the VELCRO strip 44 on the
front side 46 of the arm 26 engages with the VELCRO strip 36 on the
back side 38 of the arm 22. The bottom arm 24 of the first pair of
arms, containing the rubber tubing, is then brought across the
bottom of the kneecap 34 and the bottom arm 28 of the second pair
of arms is placed on top of the arm 24 so that the VELCRO strip 48
on the front side 50 of the arm 28 engages with the VELCRO strip 40
on the back side 42 of the arm 24. The tubes 30 and 32 within the
first pair of arms 22 and 24, respectively, are now positioned
above and below the kneecap 34, respectively, so as to apply
pressure to the tendons there located.
Once the top arms 22 and 26 and the bottom arms 24 and 28 are
joined together, respectively, an opening 52 is formed. (See FIG.
3.) Opening 52 allows the kneecap 34 to be exposed, thereby
allowing the knee to move. freely while the strap provides the
necessary pressure to the patellar tendons. The arms fits
non-restrictively so that the person using the strap can function
through almost the full range of his or her natural ability. Also,
the arms may be adjusted so that the position of the tubes may be
varied as needed by the wearer.
The knee strap of the present invention is constructed primarily
from a fabric-covered neoprene and the main body portion and
attached arms are formed substantially from the same piece of
neoprene. It should be understood, however, that other materials
may be used. Also, the knee strap may differ in size, however, the
arms should always be of sufficient length to be secured in the
front of the leg for holding the knee strap upon the knee.
One of the benefits of the present invention is that the kneecap
mechanism is strengthened by applying pressure on the tendon above
the kneecap as well as below the kneecap. This tends to reduce the
forces of the quadriceps on the patella tendon and erosion of the
under surface of the kneecap due to a possible misalignment of the
quadriceps. Another benefit of the present invention is that
because of the nature of the material used, i.e., neoprene, the
device applies constant dynamic forces to the surrounding areas of
the knee joint, thus reducing the likelihood of Iliotibia Band and
overuse syndromes prevalent in very active people.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms
without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof
and accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims
rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope
of the invention.
* * * * *